Meeting of the Parliament 14 January 2026
I absolutely agree with Humza Yousaf. The Scottish Government’s continued support for international development and climate justice is an important way that Scotland demonstrates good global citizenship.
It is about our core values. At a time when so much is happening in the world, the support for international organisations’ work on the ground to help communities to help themselves is really important. There was a time in this Parliament when that was a unanimous position; it saddens me that some people have stepped back from our global requirements and obligations.
The First Minister wrote to the UK Foreign Secretary on 14 December, raising his profound concerns about UK Government aid cuts from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of gross national income by 2027-28. He asked the Foreign Secretary to reconsider the reported proposed cuts to Malawi, which has been one of the Scottish Government’s partner countries since 2005. We continue to advocate on the issue to the UK Government.